Nominations for awards celebrated at the AMA Symposium are now open! Let’s honor a community that shares knowledge, elevates one another and inspires what’s next! View all awards and submit by August 10.
Shape the Future of Higher Ed Marketing
For over 30 years, the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education has shaped the future of higher ed marketing with a peer-reviewed program that refines strategy, strengthens institutional reputation, and supports long-term financial health. Beyond the sessions, it’s a collaborative space where ideas turn into action and innovation fuels progress.
Why the Symposium Stands Out
Peer-Reviewed Content
A committee of your peers reviews programming to ensure you receive the most relevant and impactful learning experiences.
Intentional Collaboration
Connect with higher ed marketers in a collaborative space where shared experiences, fresh insights, and genuine connections become a lasting professional support network.
Interactive Workshops
Concentrated, high-impact workshops focused on today’s most pressing trends! Blend hands-on learning and peer-reviewed sessions to equip you with actionable techniques that elevate your marketing strategy.
Solution Providers
No event has more higher ed solution providers in one place. Explore an expansive exhibit hall to connect with top companies and discover innovative solutions that would significantly enhance your institution’s impact.
New! AMA Braindate Lounge
This is your space to connect through one-on-one or small group conversations. Got a big idea? A challenge to solve? A business move to explore? Post a topic, book a chat or jump into one that speaks to you. Because someone else wants to talk about the exact thing that’s been on your mind. Learn more!
Pricing & Registration
Members
Early-Bird (through Oct. 5): $1,339
Standard (after Oct. 5): $1,539
Non-Members
Early-Bird (through Oct. 5): $1,639
Standard (after Oct. 5): $1,839
Attending as a Group? Save 15%
Register 3+ attendees and save 15%—bringing the conference price to as low as $1,138 per person!
Claim Your One-Year AMA Membership with Registration
A one-year professional membership is included in the non-member conference fee. Once you register, we’ll send instructions to activate your membership, giving you access to training, tools, and research!
Sponsor Registration
Current sponsors of the 2026 AMA Symposium can register using the link below. Questions? Please reach out to Bill Mattes at bmattes@ama.org.
Invite-Only Event for Senior Higher Education Marketers
November 8, 2026 | Limited Space
An exclusive opportunity tailored for top campus marketers navigating complex challenges in higher education today.
New! An Event for Emerging Leaders in Higher Education Marketing
November 8, 2026
Emerging leaders can gain senior-level insight, build powerful connections and develop the strategic edge to confidently prepare for what’s next.
Need a Travel Form?
Generate your personalized Letter of Invitation, commonly requested for international travel and/or to clarify applications.
2026 Co-Chairs
Vice President, Industry Relations & Advisory Services
SimpsonScarborough
Vice President of Operations, Marketing, and Communications
Chatham University
AMA Event Policies
Agenda
Check back this summer for the official 2026 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education agenda!
Featured Tracks
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- Leadership & Organization
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- Strategy & Planning
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- Enrollment, Retention & Fundraising
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- Marketing Technologies (MarTech) & AI
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- Signals & Shifts
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- Research & Impact
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- Branding & Content
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- Reputation & Communications
Session Formats
Your Guide to Session Formats
Not all conferences are created equal – and neither are all sessions. Here’s your cheat sheet to every format you’ll find at this year’s event so you can plan like a pro (and still leave room for happy surprises).
Keynote
The whole room, one moment. Keynotes are all-hands gatherings with no competing sessions – just you, your peers and a speaker who’s here to make you feel something. Q&A with the main act usually closes it out.
✦ Expect to leave inspired, challenged, or both.
Senior Leader & Next Leader Experiences
Targeted, immersive pre-conference experiences built specifically for where you are in your career. Each one blends education sessions with interactive workshops – so you’re not just learning, you’re doing. Pre-registration required.
✦ Your people, your challenges, your room.
Breakouts
Peer-reviewed sessions across a wide range of topics – you pick what fits your role or career stage using the audience guide. Typically panel-led, with time for Q&A at the end. The bulk of your learning schedule lives here.
✦ Listen, absorb, then ask the thing you’ve been wondering.
Fireside Chat
A moderator + one or two subject matter experts in honest, unfiltered conversation about the topics that actually matter right now. Less formal than a panel, more revealing than a lecture.
✦ The kind of conversation you wish every conference had.
Workshop
Longer, in-depth and more hands-on. Workshops are two-hour sessions built for skill-building and strategy development. You’ll leave with things you can actually use back on campus, not just notes to revisit later.
✦ Block the time. It’s worth it.
Idea Exchange
Small group. Real conversation. These sessions are designed for genuine discussion and idea sharing – you’ll engage directly with fellow attendees, not just listen to someone at the front of the room.
✦ Less audience, more dialogue.
Industry Leader
One sponsor gets the mic for a focused deep dive into their offering and how it can elevate your work. Less pitch, more perspective – hear directly from the people building the tools and opportunities you’re curious about.
✦ Learn what’s possible from the people making it possible.
Innovation Showcase
Three solution providers, each with a sharp take on what’s happening right now. Fast, punchy and forward-looking – think speed round meets industry insight. A great way to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
✦ Three voices, three angles, one session worth your seat.
Braindate
New this year! Connect with fellow attendees through the conference app around topics that genuinely interest you. You bring the topic, find others who care about the same thing, and we’ll provide the space. Casual, self-directed and surprisingly fun.
✦ Your niche topic deserves a crowd. Go find them.
Exhibit Hall Stage
Fast takes, spontaneous moments and a little bit of everything in between. The Exhibit Hall Stage is designed for discovery, so stop by whenever you have a free moment. You never know what you’ll find.
✦ No agenda. No expectations. Just check it out.
Event Location
Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center
6700 North Gaylord Rockies Boulevard
Aurora, Colorado, USA, 80019
Phone: 1-720-452-6900
Room Reservations
We’ve secured an AMA room block at a special rate of $261.00 single/double occupancy per night (excluding taxes, which are currently 15.25% and a Destination Marketing Fee and Tax of $2.26 per night). Taxes and fees are subject to change.
Additional guests can be added for $20.00 per person per night. A $28.00 (plus tax) nightly resort fee will be added to the guest room rate.
Reservation cut-off date: Monday, October 5, or when rooms sell out.
Or call Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center Reservations at 1-720-452-6900.
Please reference AMA (American Marketing Association) when making reservations.
Reserve your overnight accommodations early as there are a limited number of AMA special rates available.
Please know that any hotel room booked outside the AMA negotiated block may not be eligible for the discounted rate. Those reservations may also have a different cancellation policy and will not be eligible for reimbursement in the case of event cancellation.
Hotel Cancellation Policy
The Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center has a 72-hour prior to arrival cancellation policy. Should you need to cancel your reservation please do so outside the 72-hour cancellation window to avoid a fee. If you need to cancel within the policy, you forfeit your deposit that was taken at the time of booking, or we will charge your card a one-night room and tax cancellation fee. A credit card is required at the time of booking to guarantee your reservation with a deposit of one night’s room and tax. The deposit will only be refunded for reservations that cancel prior to the 72- hours to arrival cancellation policy. If you will be arriving after midnight, please contact the Hotel directly so they can make a note in your Reservation and plan for your late arrival. If you fail to arrive before this time, your Reservation will be cancelled and you will be charged a No-Show Fee. Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center is now cashless throughout your experience. The resort accepts credit card and mobile payments only, including front desk, food and beverage locations, retail, special events, parking, etc. Guests can convert their cash into $20 – $500 gift cards at Cash-To-Card kiosks located to the left of the escalators to Arapahoe Springs Water Park. Please note a credit card is required at time of check-in to cover remaining room costs. If you will have your charges covered by a method of payment that will not be presented on property, please contact the hotel to request a credit card authorization. Additionally, a hold of $100.00 a day will be held for incidental charges. Any funds not used will be refunded back to the payment on file upon check-out.
Area Attractions, Events and Tourism
Transportation
ADA
The AMA is committed to providing equal access to our meetings for all attendees. If you are an attendee with a disability and require program accommodations, please contact the AMA Support Center at (800) AMA-1150. A member of our staff will ensure that appropriate access arrangements are made. If you have specific disability-related needs for your hotel sleeping room, please be sure to communicate those directly to the hotel when you make your reservation. In an effort to provide the highest quality of service to all attendees, we require that details of all access requests be communicated to our office at least 14 days in advance of the beginning of the meeting.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Spotlight Partner
Presenting Sponsor
Industry Leader Sponsors
Innovation Showcase Sponsors
Sponsors
Exhibitors
160over90 • 25th Hour Communications • Advance Education • Allied Pixel • Amsive • Archer Education • Bandwango • Beacon Technologies • Blue Moon Consulting • Boxcar • CampusXR • Campus Reel • Campus Sonar • Concept3D • Digital United • Digital Wave • Direct Development • DME Delivers • EAB • Electric Kite • Encoura • Epicosity • ERI • Foleon • Gecko • GrodMedia • Halda • Hannon Hill • idfive • iHire • inLighten • KWALL • Marq • Magellan Promotions • Manaferra • Marq • MediaValet • Modern Campus • NextGrad • Niche • OHO • Open Fortune • Pathify • PhotoShelter • Prospectus Plus • Ring Digital • RR Donnelley • SearchStax • Slate Group • Spark451 • Sprout Social • Squiz • The Standard Group • Umbrella Digital • Vantage Point • Virtual Circuit Tours • VisionPoint • Workzone • Yes& • Your-Type
AMA Braindate Lounge
What’s a Braindate, you ask? It’s a one-on-one or small group conversation about something you care about.
Got a hot take? A challenge to crack? A topic you’ve been wanting to geek out on? Bring it. Or join someone else’s. This isn’t networking as usual. It’s a people-powered idea exchange built on curiosity, shared experience and real talk that keeps going long after the event ends.
Use it to:
- Swap ideas and crowdsource new ones
- Get fresh takes from unexpected places
- Share hard-won wisdom or questions you’re still wrestling with
- Meet people who want to talk about the same stuff you do
Choosing Shared Growth and Momentum Over Burnout: A Case Study
In 2025, Prairie View A&M University was in a season of success and celebration, and the school’s marketing team was excited to build on that momentum. They sent 14 members of their marketing and cross-functional teams to the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, returning more connected, more energized and equipped with bold ideas.
Download the full case study to see how attending the AMA Symposium during one of their busiest seasons in history paid off for Prairie View A&M University’s marketers.